Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame shortstop of the Chicago Cubs, loved baseball so much that playing one game wasn't enough. His popular saying of "Let's play two" is as much a part of his legacy as his 512 career home runs.
The two-time National League MVP might have changed his tune if he had to endure a marathon contest comprising nearly three games' worth of innings. The longest games in MLB history felt like they would never end.
What Makes an MLB Game Long?
Unlike the constant action of basketball, hockey and soccer, baseball is a sport that historically has been played to its own beat.
If hitters didn't step out of the batter's box to adjust their gloves, pitchers walked off the mound to grab some extra rosin to get a better grip on the ball. Managers also made nonstop pitching changes to find the best matchups to get outs. The introduction of video replay in 2008 added more stoppages.
On occasion, competition goes beyond the regulation nine innings when teams are tied, forcing "extra" innings.
The longest game in MLB history by number of innings was an early-era stalemate between two pitchers who refused to budge and let the other team score.
Longest MLB Games by Innings
On May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves played the most innings ever in an MLB game at Braves Field in Boston. The teams were tied at 1–1 after six innings and proceeded to play 20 consecutive scoreless frames before the contest was called due to darkness.
The record 26-inning affair only took three hours and 50 minutes to play. Incredibly, both starting pitchers twirled 26-inning complete games.
Right-hander Leon Cadore surrendered one earned run, 15 hits and five walks and recorded seven strikeouts for the Robins (a predecessor of the Dodgers). Braves righty Joe Oeschger gave up one earned run, nine hits and four walks and also struck out seven.
The next day, Oeschger said, "My elbow is a little lame, but that is the usual thing."
The second-most innings played in an MLB game is 25. Two contests share the honor.
In 1974, the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets were locked in a 3–3 tie at Shea Stadium when Cardinals center fielder Bake McBride scored from first base on an errant pickoff throw by Mets reliever Hank Webb. Luckily for St. Louis, the speedy McBride ignored the stop sign from third base coach Vern Benson.
"Bake was running so fast that he couldn’t see the sign," Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst said.
The Cardinals' 4–3 victory was secured by righthander Sonny Siebert, who earned the win with 2 1/3 shutout innings. St. Louis's MVP on the mound was lefthander Claude Osteen, who preceded Siebert with 9 1/3 scoreless innings.
In 1984, the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox played MLB's second-ever 25-inning marathon. The game set the American League record for most innings, but it also made history for the amount of time it took. And one day wasn't enough to complete it.
Date
Away Team
Home Team
Result
Innings
May 1, 1920
Brooklyn Robins
Boston Braves
Robins 1, Braves 1
26
Sept. 11, 1974
St. Louis Cardinals
New York Mets
Cardinals 4, Mets 3
25
May 8, 1984
Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago White Sox
White Sox 7, Brewers 6
25
Sept. 1, 1906
Philadelphia Athletics
Boston Americans
Athletics 4, Americans 1
24
July 21, 1945
Detroit Tigers
Philadelphia Athletics
Tigers 1, Athletics 1
24
April 15, 1968
New York Mets
Houston Astros
Astros 1, Mets 0
24
June 27, 1939
Brooklyn Dodgers
Boston Bees
Dodgers 2, Bees 2
23
May 31, 1964
San Francisco Giants
New York Mets
Giants 8, Mets 6
23
Aug. 22, 1917
Pittsburgh Pirates
Brooklyn Robins
Robins 6, Pirates 5
22
May 17, 1927
Chicago Cubs
Boston Braves
Cubs 4, Braves 3
22
June 24, 1962
New York Yankees
Detroit Tigers
Yankees 9, Tigers 7
22
June 12, 1967
Chicago White Sox
Washington Senators
Senators 6, White Sox 5
22
May 12, 1972
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
Brewers 4, Twins 3
22
June 3, 1989
Los Angeles Dodgers
Houston Astros
Astros 5, Dodgers 4
22
Aug. 23, 1989
Los Angeles Dodgers
Montreal Expos
Dodgers 1, Expos 0
22
Aug. 31, 1993
Cleveland Indians
Minnesota Twins
Twins 5, Indians 4
22
April 17, 2008
Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres
Rockies 2, Padres 1
22
Longest MLB Games by Time
On May 8, 1984, the Brewers and White Sox played the second game of a midweek series at Comiskey Park. They wouldn't finish it until the next day after a total of eight hours and six minutes of baseball—the longest duration of a game in MLB history.
Milwaukee broke a 1–1 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth, and Chicago responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning to force extra innings. They matched scoreless frames through the 17th inning when play was suspended due to the AL's 1 a.m. curfew.
Play resumed the next day at 6:30 p.m. before the teams' scheduled contest. Ben Ogilvie's three-run home run in the 21st inning appeared to give the Brewers the victory, but the White Sox battled to make it 6-6 on Carlton Fisk's RBI single and Tom Paciorek's two-run single.
In the 25th inning, Chicago brought in its scheduled starter that night, Hall of Fame right-hander Tom Seaver, to make his first relief appearance since 1976. After Seaver threw a scoreless frame, Harold Baines had only one thing on his mind when he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the inning. “Winning the game is my only goal,” Baines told the Associated Press.
Baines blasted a Chuck Porter pitch 420 feet into the center-field bullpen to give the White Sox a 7–6 victory and finally end the longest game in MLB history. “I wish it would have went a little longer,” said Porter, the losing pitcher.
The second longest game in MLB history was also part of what was the longest doubleheader ever at the time. On May 31, 1964, before a crowd of 57,037 fans at Shea Stadium, the San Francisco Giants defeated the Mets 5–3 in the first game and then won 8–6 in a 23-inning nightcap that lasted seven hours and 23 minutes.
In extra innings, Willie Mays, one of the greatest center fielders ever, played shortstop for the Giants. Another future Hall of Famer, righthander Gaylord Perry, threw 10 innings of scoreless relief to earn one of his 314 career victories.
The longest nine-inning game in MLB history is four hours and 45 minutes. On Aug. 18, 2006, the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 14–11 in the nightcap of a day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park. Each team collected 17 hits but managed only one home run.
Date
Away Team
Home Team
Result
Time (Innings)
May 8, 1984
Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago White Sox
White Sox 7, Brewers 6
8 hrs, 6 min (25 innings)
May 31, 1964
San Francisco Giants
New York Mets
Giants 8, Mets 6
7 hrs, 23 min (23 innings)
June 3, 1989
Los Angeles Dodgers
Houston Astros
Astros 5, Dodgers 4
7 hrs, 14 min (22 innings)
Sept. 11, 1974
St. Louis Cardinals
New York Mets
Cardinals 4, Mets 3
7 hrs, 4 min (25 innings)
June 24, 1962
New York Yankees
Detroit Tigers
Yankees 9, Tigers 7
7 hours (22 innings)
June 12, 1967
Chicago White Sox
Washington Senators
Senators 6, White Sox 5
6 hrs, 38 min (22 innings)
Aug. 31, 1993
Cleveland Indians
Minnesota Twins
Twins 5, Indians 4
6 hrs, 17 min (22 innings)
April 17, 2008
Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres
Rockies 2, Padres 1
6 hrs, 16 min (22 innings)
Aug. 23, 1989
Los Angeles Dodgers
Montreal Expos
Dodgers 1, Expos 0
6 hrs, 14 min (22 innings)
Aug. 17, 1982
Los Angeles Dodgers
Chicago Cubs
Dodgers 2, Cubs 1
6 hrs, 10 min (21 innings)
April 15, 1968
New York Mets
Houston Astros
Astros 1, Mets 0
6 hrs, 6 min (24 innings)
May 26, 1973
Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox
White Sox 6, Indians 3
6 hrs, 3 min (21 innings)
Rule Changes to Shorten Games
In 2021, Major League Baseball games averaged three hours and 10 minutes. To speed up the pace of play and make baseball more palatable to a younger audience, the league adopted new rules, including a pitch clock to limit dead time during at-bats.
The changes worked. In 2024, a regulation nine-inning contest averaged two hours and 36 minutes.
MLB also took steps to shorten extra-inning games.
In 2020, as part of its pandemic measures, the league introduced the "ghost runner,” an automatic runner placed at second base at the start of each team's half inning to provide an immediate scoring opportunity.
Extra-inning contests dropped from 233 in 2021 to 216 in 2022. The longest game across the two seasons lasted 16 innings.
In 2023, MLB made the extra-innings format permanent for the regular season.
